hardyboysfandomcom-20200213-history
Night of the Werewolf
Night of the Werewolf is the 59th book in The Hardy Boys series. It was first published in 1979 by Simon & Schuster's Wanderer imprint. Night of the Werewolf was the first book to be published by Simon & Schuster in what has become known as the Digest series, after Grosset & Dunlap lost rights to publish any more new Hardy Boys stories. James D. Lawrence wrote the outline for the story which was then edited by Lilo Wuenn.Who Wrote the Hardy Boys? at Keeling.com Publication history The original text of Night of the Werewolf refers to one of the Native American characters by the name of Pocahontas. This was changed in later Minstrel printings to Elizabeth because some people said it was a racist name. In April 2005, along with the next seven Digests, Night of The Werewolf was republished by Grosset & Dunlap in the blue spine flashlight format that has been used on the first 58 books, since 1987. In this reprinting of the book, the original text is used, with the afore mentioned Native American character, once again, called Pocahontas. As of 2013, the Grosset & Dunlap editions and now out of print. Back cover summary A ferocious, wolf-like creature appears during the night of the full moon in a small Adirondack town, attacking livestock and scaring many residents. John Tabor, a young man with a history of werewolves in his family line, is suspect. Frank and Joe Hardy are hired to clear the young man's name. At the same time, Fen ton Hardy his sons' on a case of industrial sabotage. The Hardy Boys, with the assistance of Chet Morton, tackle their assignments with gusto and find themselves face to face with danger wherever they go. Joe barely escapes a horrible death as the young detectives battle their unscrupulous enemies before finally solving this exciting mystery. Plot summary On a double date with their respective girlfriends, Callie Shaw and Iola Morton, Frank and Joe Hardy see a strange wolf-like creature with glowing fur in the woods just outside Bayport. The Hardy boys go to follow the mysterious dog, but are forced to cut their investigation short when they receive a call on their car radio to come home - they have a visitor. At home the boys meet Alena Tabor, who informs them she would like to hire them to solve a mystery. Alena tells the boys, that recent reports of werewolf attacks in her area, and an old family legend seem to be driving her older brother John out of his mind. The legend says every seventh generation, one member of the Tabor family becomes a werewolf and Alena and her older brother are the seventh generation. Lately John has been acting very strangely, and with the recent werewolf attacks Alena fears, John might not only loose his sanity but that someone may learn of their family history. Frank and Joe agree to help and, with buddy Chet Morton, leave for Alena's home in the Adirondack Mountains, but not before getting shot at with a silver bullet and almost getting blown up with a time bomb! Unroute to the Adirondacks, the boys pay a visit to noted werewolf authority Desmond Quorn. When Joe asks to see his files on the first Tabor werewolf, Quorn makes the startling discovery that his records on Tabor have been stolen! After learning that Mr. Quorn suspects a man named Julien Sorel, who recently inquired about the Tabor case, to be the thief, and that the last known Tabor werewolf was Jan Tabor in the eighteenth century, the Hardys and Chet continue their journey. Frank notes that Jan is the Czech version of John. On arriving at the cottage (owned by the Tabors) where they will be staying the Bayporters head for the Tabor estate. There a barbecue is taking place, and the boys are introduced to John and his father, Karel Tabor. They also learn that for a while, John was staying at the Pine Manor Rest Home for treatment. A full moon is out tonight, so instead of going to bed, the Hardys decide to scout around the village of Hawk River. Chet is given the job of watching the Tabor house to see if John leaves during the night. The night is eventful, with wolf howls and even two people seeing the wolf, but fruitless, since Chet fall asleep at his stake out, and are no closer to proving John's innocence. But the Hardys don't give up and before turning in, they call on the Tabors to check in on John, and to their dismay they discover John is not in his bed. While the boys are still talking to the Tabors, John arrives home, but when questioned on where he want, claims to have no idea, and seems to be in a trance. Next morning at the cabin, Frank and Joe are awakened by a radio call from their private investigator father, Fenton Hardy. Fenton is curious about the boys new case, which they received while he was away, and after they fill him in on their case, he tells them about his. He's working on a case for Federal Insurance Underwriters, involving three buildings designed by Karel Tabor and constructed by his firm, Chelsea Builders. All three of these buildings have suffered recent disasters, including fire, gas explosion, and so-called structural collapse. Fenton tells the boys they, can can help his investigation by taking a look at one of Karel Tabor's newest projects,a historic mansion,located not far from Hawk River. At the site, the Hardy boys meet and befriend a young Mohawk named Hank Eagle, who works for Chelsea Builders as a high-steel worker. Hank tells him that the mansion is named Eagle's Nest, and was build by a British Indian agent, some time before the Revolutionary War. The Indian name was Dark Eagle and he is Hank's ancestor. Later that day F rank, Joe and Chet meet Alena for a picnic, and she shows them today's Hawk River Herald. A front-page article, reports on the Tabor family's werewolf history, and noted that John Tabor was a seventh-generation descendant of the last alleged werewolf. After the picnic, the Hardy boys go to the Herald's office, and learn that the editor of the paper, Lyle Dunn, had had an old magazine article on Tabor, and Desmond Quorn's stolen Tabor files mailed to him. Dunn says he had no idea the files were stolen, and also mentions that John Tabor may not be the only suspect in the werewolf attacks. Naturalist Alec Virgil runs what he calls a "wolf farm" not far from Hawk River, and one of his wolfs could be to blame. Later, back at the cabin, Frank and Joe receive a phone call from Hank Eagle, who tells them to come to New York City as soon as they can. They arrive in Manhattan before ten, and meet up with Hank where he instructed them to. He tells them that earlier that day he discovered a lunch box, in the skyscraper he is working on, containing the floor plan of Chelsea Builders' offices, a key, and a safe combination. As they suspected someone arrives to pick up the box. They surprise him, but the crook still manages to get away, although without the lunchbox. The Hardys stay at Hank's house for the night and next morning hear that the safe at Chelsea Builders was robbed after all. It seems that after the pick up of the safe combination was stopped by the Hardys, the thieves simply used an explosive to get inside. Mr. Tabor is too busy to talk to Frank and Joe, so his executive assistant, Neal Xavier does instead. Xavier says that he and Mr. Tabor believe a rival firm may be behind the robbery, Upton Associates. For some time now Xavier's boss has suspected Upton of taking kick-backs from contractors with contractors involved in illegal activity. Tabor had collected some evidence against the firm and stored it in the safe, but these tapes are missing from the safe. Later that day the Hardy manage to get an interview with Earl Bruce, a architectural critic, from one of New York City's leading newspapers. From him they l earn that Upton Associates is run by a man named Zachary Upton. Interestingly the newsman also says that Upton son is a convicted criminal. After their talk with Bruce, the Hardys take a taxi to the Soup Bowl restaurant, were they are to meet a Mr. Nest, who has been trying to contact them since before they arrived in New York City. They first saw the man at Eagle Nest and he seemed to be spying on Frank and Joe, so they are very interested to know what he wants. While waiting for Mr. Nest to show up Frank, remembers that when he was examining the safe at the Chelsea's offices he noticed bubble gum splattered on the safe, and decides to follow-up the clue. Using the house pay phone, Frank calls the Hardy's operative, Sam Radley, and asks him if he knows of any safe crackers who chew gum. Sam does, he's nicknamed "Bubbles" but his real name is Lew Upton. Could Lew be Zachary Upton's son? Mr. Nest finally arrives, but doesn't stay very long. When Frank and Joe don't know what he's referring to, when Nest says they need to discuss "the tomahawk", he quickly leaves the restaurant. The brothers try to follow but soon loose him in the crowed New York streets. After the disappointing meeting with Mr. Nest, Frank calls Zachary Upton. The man isn't very willing to talk to the boys, that is until Frank starts dropping names. Like Bubbles Upton. Upton promises to do his best to get the Hardys an interview with his son, and asks them to call back in half an hour. At two-thirty Frank and Joe meet Zachary Upton at Central Park as was arranged. Frank and Joe are given a message from Lew Upton, that reads: "Mob job! Tell your father to watch out or we're both dead men!" After there meeting with Zachary Upton they head back to Hank River. On their way they stop at Bayport, and after staying the night at home, at Pine Manor Rest Home. The Hardys ask to see the doctor who treated John Tabor, and are told Dr. Benton is currently talking to a visitor who asked the same thing. After a short wait th e brothers are admitted to see the doctor, on the way they see a man with a thick black mustache - evidently the visitor who came to see about John. When asked if the apparent breakdown might have been brought on by enemies, Dr. Benton stated the idea ridiculous. Frank and Joe say John's room might of been bugged, but upon searching the room they discover nothing. They still believe it possible since any electronics could have been removed since, and catching a male nurse eavesdropping on them, only heightens their suspicions. Before reaching Hawk River, the Hardy brothers make one more stop - at the home of the man who is having Eagle Nest restored. Frank describes the so-called Mr. Nest who spied on them at the mansion, and Crawford identifies him as an antique dealer by the name of Marburg. Shortly after Crawford bought Eagle's Nest, he was conducted by Marburg, who offered to buy any old documents which turned up during the restoration. Crawford declined saying there wouldn't be much anyway, considering the age of the building. Marburg would not take no for an answer, however, and after the dealer continued to pester him with calls, Crawford told him he wanted nothing to do with him, and that if he kept it up he wouldn't get a chance to bid on anything. At the cabin, Chet tells them of what was happened during their absence. Like he has been since the very first night in the Adirondacks, Chet was keeping his stake-out at the Tabor's house last night. Something seemed to be moving in the shadows, and Chet realized he wasn't the only person watching the house! Later on the wolf howls started, and shortly after John Tabor snack out of the house. The mystery man, Chet named Mr. X, started following John, so Chet followed too. From the description Chet gave of "Mr. X" the Hardys concluded, it was the same mustached man they saw at the sanatorium. Chet was following the man through the woods when he realized he too was being followed. Chet hid in a bush, planning to ambush his shadow when he past by. He did this but his plan didn't work out as he would have liked...When Chet came to no one was around. The boys go to the area were Chet followed John and aren't there long when they find an old shack. Inside, the floor is littered with books and papers. On a drawi ng board is a architectural sketch. It is clear to the three friends that the cabin is frequented by John Tabor. After further examination Joe discovers a wolf skin, fitted out for a person to wear. While the Hardys and Chet are still at the shack, the town sheriff arrives. Sheriff Kenning says he an anonymous phone tip, telling him to take a look at John Tabor's cabin. Kenning also shows the boys a silver bullet he found last night, and he tells them that someone shot a silver bullet at Karel Tabor this morning. Frank and Joe have heard that Native Americans have werewolf legends, so the boys decide to pay a visit to the local Mohawk tribe. There they meet Hank's uncle Adam Eagle, who tells them he believes the werewolf sitings are untrue. Around nine-thirty that night, back at the cabin, the boys receive a call from Hank. He says that his uncle says Go-oh told him the Hardys could be trusted, so he asked Hank to tell them what he knows of Marburg. Hank tells them he suspects the dealer is looking for the long-lost sliver tomahawk, given to Dark Eagle by King George. Hank's family has an old diary of Dark Eagle's and he fears news of it may have leaked out to Marburg. The Hardys thank the high-steel worker and promise to tell him if they discover any clues to the whereabouts of the tomahawk. Then they set off with Chet for their vigil at the Tabor estate. Less than half an hour later, Joe sees a figure moving outside the house. Frank and Joe sneak up on the man and pin him down. Their prisoner turns out to be the same name they say leaving the Dr Benton's office at the rest home. The man name is Elmo Yancey and he shows them his private investigator's license. Yancey had been hired by a client to investigate on the T abor family, in particular the son. He had been watching the Tabor house for the same reasons as Chet and the Hardys. Yancey says John seemed to be in a trance, and that he didn't see the wolf skin when he searched the cabin. If Yancey is telling the truth the Hardys realize that some one must have planted the skin later, and maybe the same person then tipped of the sheriff. Next morning Fenton phones the boys, for an update on the case, and in return he tells them that Bubbles Upton is now working on the side of the law, trying to make up for his past crimes. At the moment - following up on Neal Xavier's story - he is, trying to find out if a crooked contractor is involved in the building disasters. Fenton then tells them he wants the boys to pursue a lead in New York City. It may be urgent so the Hardy pilot, Jack Wane will be coming to fly the boys to the city. Once in New York the Hardys, and Chet take a taxi to the address given to them by Mr. Hardy. Inside the house, located in the bad part of the Bronx, Lew "Bubbles" Upton is discovered bound and gagged! After Lew is revived he tells them he was hired by mobsters to crack the Chelsea Builders safe. He stole sound tapes from the safe, and according to Neal Xavier the evidence was stored on tapes. Once again Xavier story seems to be confirmed by an outside source. Apparently, Bubbles tried to play the tapes but was caught and beaten by the mobsters, who planned to dump him in the river that night. Both Hardys wonder if Lew realized the tapes might incriminate his own father. After calling a taxi to take Bubbles to the hospital, the Hardys, and Chet pay a visit to a psychiatrist, whom Fenton had recommended to them before they left for New York. Dr. Fizzoli says that it's quite possible that John Tabor's strange behavior could be of result of post-hypnotic suggestion. To accomplish this, he explains the person would first be hypnotized, then given an order to carry out after awakening from his trance. Ever thing the doctor tells them, including the fact that orders can be given over the phone, seem to make sense of John's problems. The Hardys are going to fly back to Hawk River when they receive an urgent message from Neal Xavier. He want to see them as soon as possible. At Xavier's apartment they find the man fears for his life, and has he has rented a Doberman for his protection. Xavier says he has made an unpleasant discovery that the criminal behind Chelsea's troubles is none other then firm president Karel Tabor! It seems Tabor is at odds with the board of directors, and Xavier thinks he arranged the three disasters to force down the price of Chelsea's stock. At cheaper prices Tabor could buy up the stock and gain full control of the company. Tabor has allegedly hired the crooked contractors to carry out sabotage on the buildings. The stolen tapes must have actually been evidence against the contractor, which Tabor must have been keeping to ensure he wasn't double-crossed. Xavier also says he overheard Tabor arranging a meeting with the contractor, near Hawk River. After being given the exact location of this meeting the Hardys and Chet fly back to the Adirondacks. While eating dinner back at their cabin, Elmo Yancey calls on them. The last time they met Hardys had shown interest in knowing who Yancey worked, and Yancey promised to tell them if he got permission. He did, and reveals that his client is a wealthy businessman from Paris, named Gustav Tabor. Gu stav Tabor is getting old but with no children of his own, he decided to leave his fortune to the youngest male relative - John Tabor. But first he wants to know if John is worthy of inheriting, so he hired Elmo Yancey to give him a report on the boy. Shortly before nine o' clock that night, set out for house the meeting between Karel Tabor and the contractor is supposed to be taking place. Meanwhile, Chet stays behind to keep an eye on the Tabor house. Once on the road Frank suspects they are being followed, but they quickly turn the tables and manage to trap the other car on small side road. They confront the driver - a young man, who according his passport lives and Paris and is named Paul Clermont. The Frenchman admits he was the one trying to ruin John Tabor's chances at the inheritance by making him look crazy. He also was the person behind the theft of Desmond Quorn's files and planting the wolf skin in John's cabin. Clermont explains that he is the younger brother of Gustav Tabor's late wife, and when he learned that Gustav was looking for an heir other then himself he had come to the United States to make John look bad. He wasn't the one who started the werewolf scares, he claims that after hearing of the first attack he had simply contributed to it. After thinking things over, Frank and Joe decide to let the man go, since they believe he is only responsible for steeling the files, and the skin, as well as knocking out Chet in the woods, in which case he has had a very small part to play in the recent mystery. On the road again, the brothers receive a radio call from Chet, he informs them Karel and John Tabor left their house in their car, and our heading north. North is the opposite from where the Hardys are going, and Frank suspects Xavier lied to them to get them away from what was really going on. The boys ar en't sure, but Eagle's Nest is north, and they suspect that might be the real meeting place. Parking a short distance from the mansion, Frank and Joe set out on foot for the remainder of the trip. Things turn bad when the glowing werewolf shows up! Just before the werewolf rips Joe's neck open, Frank whips out a dartgun, the brothers picked up the last time they were in Bayport, and shots the creature in the face. After pulling Joe from under the fallen wolf, Frank discovers that the glowing fur is actually a fur coat colored with fluorescent dye. Once this coat is removed the werewolf turns out to be Neal Xavier's big guard dog. After almost getting burned in a forest fire only to be flown to rescue by Jack Wane in his plane, Skyhappy Sal, Frank and Joe finally reach Eagle's Nest. The brothers hear someone calling for help and rush look up to see John and his father tied up on the porch. They quickly reach the porch and begin uniting the prisoners, and don't realize it's a trap until it's too late. Below the thugs start knocking the porch's supports with sledgehammers. The Hardys manage to drag the Tabors inside the building only moments before th e porch breaks loose and crashes down the hillside. It is soon apparent that the crooks realize their victims escape, when a half a dozen men swarm into the house. Among them is Neal Xavier. The Hardys, and Tabors are outnumbered but they use their surroundings to take advantage of the fight. Grabbing loose planks Frank and Joe hurl at their on coming enemies. The Tabors follow suit and before their opponents can recover they rush upon them. Despite being out numbered the four hold their on, punching, kicking, and doing just about any thing they can to stay standing. Even so, their enemies likely would have gained the upper hand, if it had not been for two newcomers to the battle. With the added help of the newcomers, the Hardys, and the Tabors manage to take out the gang. When the fight was finally over Frank recognized the late comers as Jack Wane and his father, Fenton! On top of Xavier, the prisoners include the contractor, three of his gang members and the male nurse the Hardy boys had spotted evesdropping on them at the Pine River Rest Home. The Hardy learn that Mr. Tabor had discovered some serous engineering in Xavier's architectural work. He also found out that had taken bribs to let the contractor use cheaper materials then required on jobs he did for Chelsea Builders. Tabor had not reported Xaiver in fear that it might ruin the firm's reputation, but instead got Xavier to promise to reform. To esure this, Tabor had recored this on tape, which is what was stolen from the offices. Xavier joinned Chelsea Builers with the hope of becoming the firm's president and under the questioning of Fenton, Xavier confessed he had worked with his acc omplices to cause the building disasters in and force Karal Tabor into early retirement. However, Tabor's son was such a skilled architect himself, that he was likely to take over after his father. So Xavier, knowing of the Tabor family ledgend, deviced the werewolf plot. At first he pestered John with distribng phone calls, and then after recommending the Pine Manor Sanatorium to the family, he had worried John with ghost voices by mean of electrinics planted in John's room by a friend who worked as a nurse at the home. The nurse is an expert hypnotist. While pretending to help John he gave him post-hypnotic suggestions to make him act strangly on returnnig to Hawk River. Xavier was also behind the werewolf in Bayport, which he did in an adtempt to scare the Hardys of the case, after learning the Tabors were considering the Hardys' help. Xavier had called the Tabors to Eagle's Nest with the plan of having his dog attack and kill Karel. John would be found uncondcious near by wearing a wolf skin. John would be blamed for killing his father during one of his werewolf fits. The State Police arrive, and the Hardys are to declar the case closed, when Joe sees something shinnig in the rafters. On further investagation he discovers a hatchet - Dark Eagle's long-lost tomahawk! Before going home Frank, Joe, and Chet present the silver tomahwk to Hank Eagle and the Mohawk tribe. Appearances Characters *Regulars **Ezra Collig **Fenton Hardy **Frank Hardy **Gertrude Hardy **Joe Hardy **Laura Hardy **Biff Hooper **Chet Morton **Iola Morton **Tony Prito **Sam Radley **Callie Shaw **Jack Wane *Barnett *Dr. Benton *Earl Bruce *Pop Carter *Paul Clermont *Matt Dawson *Adam Eagle *Dark Eagle *Hank Eagle *Dr. Fizzoli *King George *Lobo Jack *Sheriff Kennig *Magda *Marburg *Nick Pappadoplos *Pocahontas *Desmond Quorn *Bob Renaud *Miss Shann *on *Julien Sorel *Stendhal *Alena Tabor *Gustaw Tabor *Jan Tabor *John Tabor *Karel Tabor *Lew Upton *Zachery Upton *Alec Virgil *Marry Virgil *Neal Xavier *Elmo Yancey Locations *Bayport **Bayport bus station **Bayport Diner **Bayport High **Bayport library **Bayport Police headquarters **Elm Street **Hardy home **Morton farm **Wild World *Bohemia *Czechoslovakia *Empire State Building *George Washington Bridge *Great Plains *Hudson River *London *Mountain View History Museum *New York **Adirondack Mountains **Catskills **Hank River **Mohawk Valley **New York State Thruway **Kingston **Desmond Quorn's house **Tabor home **Pine River Rest Home **Catskills **Salem **Route 30 **Eagles Nest **Indian Lake **Wolfville **Herald's Office **Mohawk village **New York City ***38th Street ***Bronx ***Central Park ***Central Park West ***East 49th Street ***East Village ***Fifth Avenue ***LaGuardia Airport ***Manhattan ***New Paltz ***Seventh Avenue ***Soup Bowl ***Star building *Oakville *Olympic Peninsula of Washington State *Ridge Road *Rocky Mountains *Washington Businesses and organizations *Bayport Police Department *Chelsea Builders *Federal Bureau of Investigation *Federal Insurance Underwriters *New York City police force *Prito Construction Company *State Police *Upton Associates Other *''Daily Star'' (newspaper) *Doberman (creature) *Ga-oh (spirit) *Hardy's car (vehicle) *''Hawk River Herald'' (newspaper) *Mohawk (tribe) *''The Red and the Black'' (book) *Silver tomahawk (item) *''Skyhappy Sal'' (vehicle) *Tabor family *Werewolf (creature) *''Worldweek'' (newspaper) *World War II (event) References Category:Books Category:Digest books